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TfL and Met Police to get tough on anti-social driving

Aim is to tackle behaviour likely to exacerbate congestion on the roads

A new team has been set up to prevent illegal and inconsiderate driving in London with particular focus on acts liable to cause congestion. A Transport for London (TfL) team will be deployed in 10 key locations to help tackle the kinds of behaviour that can cause delays to road users, such as illegal parking or unloading of deliveries.

Illegally parked cars and delivery vehicles are of course especially problematic for cyclists, necessitating that they move out into traffic to overtake. The London Evening Standard reports that the TfL team will be able to help move unlawfully stopped vehicles and issue Penalty Charge Notices to illegally parked vehicles. Officers will also work with businesses along the routes to try and improve the way they receive and manage deliveries.

London police expand Operation Safeway road safety campaign

The team will comprise 40 officers, rising to 80 in the spring, and will work alongside the TfL-funded Metropolitan Police Roads and Transport Policing Command, which was launched by the Mayor in January. It will have access to real time data from traffic cameras and bus drivers and will also send information back to TfL’s control room.

Leon Daniels, TfL’s Managing Director of Surface Transport, said that where officers were deployed, there would be a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to motorists causing an obstruction.

“This new team of officers is being deployed to actively solve the problems that cause delays for drivers and bus passengers. These are often caused by inconsiderate behaviour, like illegal stopping or parking in bus lanes, and the new team will tackle this head on – adopting a zero tolerance approach to obstructions that cause congestion.

“We work hard to keep London’s traffic moving every day, through our state of the art traffic signal technology, Traffic Control Centre and innovations in social media. Having more people on the ground will deliver an even better service to all of London’s road users.”

Initially, the TfL team will focus on the following ten locations:

  • Gracechurch Street, Bank
  • Eastcheap to Leadenhall, Bank
  • Gosport Street to Hoe Street, Walthamstow
  • Hackney Road to Ball Pond Road, Dalston
  • Ladywell to Loampit Vale, Lewisham
  • Highshore Road to Heaton Road, Peckham
  • Manor Park Road/Craven Park to Manor Park Road/High Street, Harlsden
  • Kensington High Street to Notting Hill Gate, Kensington
  • Columbia Avenue to Balmoral Road, Worcester Park
  • Gatton Road to Trevelyn Road, Tooting

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14 comments

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hampstead_bandit | 8 years ago
1 like

@Awavery

according to Royal Mail (I tweeted this picture to their London account) their driver was totally in the wrong as no permission had been given either by borough Police nor local authority, and this particular driver was instructed about not parking on permanent cycle lanes in the future, following my complaint. 

 

Avatar
severs1966 replied to hampstead_bandit | 8 years ago
1 like

hampstead_bandit wrote:

according to Royal Mail ... their driver was totally in the wrong as no permission had been given either by borough Police nor local authority, and this particular driver was instructed about not parking on permanent cycle lanes in the future, following my complaint. 

...but not punished for breaking the law, parking on double yellow lines.

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hampstead_bandit | 8 years ago
0 likes

I love the way this private builder has attempted to turn a permanent cycle lane into his own private site parking with some warning tape

//ep1.pinkbike.org/p6pb12895557/p5pb12895557.jpg)

 

blue paint and double yellow lines are confusing for some drivers?

//ep1.pinkbike.org/p6pb12622416/p5pb12622416.jpg)

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hampstead_bandit | 8 years ago
2 likes

perhaps this new team of crime busters could advert their gaze towards Regent's Park, unless they consider its just "speeding cyclists" that are causing all the trouble  3

//ep1.pinkbike.org/p6pb12955721/p5pb12955721.jpg)

the irony of the "traffic control" vehicle illegally parked on double yellow lines next to a busy corner in the park

as well as the usual lorries...

//ep1.pinkbike.org/p6pb12955722/p5pb12955722.jpg)

considering this vehicle was set here whilst I did several laps of the park, would have been an easy ticket for vehicle enforcement team

and the usual we see all over London...

//ep1.pinkbike.org/p6pb12938693/p5pb12938693.jpg)

 

//ep1.pinkbike.org/p6pb12846716/p5pb12846716.jpg)

 

 

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Awavey replied to hampstead_bandit | 8 years ago
0 likes
hampstead_bandit wrote:

<

//ep1.pinkbike.org/p6pb12846716/p5pb12846716.jpg)

 

 

technically postie can park there, annoying as it is and Im not saying they dont abuse their privilege on occasion, but until they sell off the "Royal" part or drop the universal service obligation they are allowed to park briefly virtually anywhere they like to deliver the mail, any parking ticket is automatically cancelled when its processed.

and I know in London at least, you can get special exemption permits which allow you to park in places you wouldnt normally be allowed to carry out roadside work where it wouldnt be possible to do the work otherwise,and again traffic wardens may love giving you what they think are easy tickets, but they just get cancelled when processed.

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emishi55 | 8 years ago
0 likes

levermonkey wrote -

"Not to mention that in order to have illegally parked in that position he must have illegally driven on the pavement in the first place.

Could Sir Alan please come forward to recieve the 'Mahoosive Cockwomble of the Day' Award."

 

Unfortunately, the police will not do anything about illegally driving and parking on the pavement - they make the excuse that there has to be evidence that a vehicle was driven onto the pavement and will actually argue that - "the vehicle could have been pushed"!!

If just £1 could be gained for every infringement made by motorists and used for cycling infrastructure, there would be a rapid transformation to a normalised mass bike culture.

Should have happened long before now.   

 

 

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OldRidgeback | 8 years ago
5 likes

I think tackling dangerous driving should be a higher priority. Commuting to work this morning on the my motorbike, I saw a pick up truck wandering from lane to lane so I opted to stick behind it rather than overtake. When a traffic jam brought the cars to a halt, I filtered past and sure enough, the driver was on the phone. On the way home, a van waited at the lights when they changed and then roared off at speed, in excess of the speed limit. This included going over a pedestrian crossing at over 30mph when stopped traffic on the other side meant the driver couldn't see if anyone was crossing, a crossing where there was a fatality earlier this year. When the van stopped because of a jam, I again filtered past and again, the driver was on the phone.

When are traffic police going to get serious about this? I'm sure I'm not the only one who sees people driving while on the phone and even texting or using the internet.

Parking in the wrong place and jamming up traffic is annoying, but it's not that dangerous.

Avatar
Big Softy | 8 years ago
3 likes

"TfL and Met get tough on parked cars"

There, fixed it for you.

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bikebot replied to Big Softy | 8 years ago
6 likes

Big Softy wrote:

"TfL and Met get tough on parked cars"

There, fixed it for you.

Well, here's one for them... (check the reg)

//i.imgur.com/KNXz5sK.jpg)

Avatar
levermonkey replied to bikebot | 8 years ago
3 likes

bikebot wrote:

Big Softy wrote:

"TfL and Met get tough on parked cars"

There, fixed it for you.

Well, here's one for them... (check the reg)

//i.imgur.com/KNXz5sK.jpg)

Not to mention that in order to have illegally parked in that position he must have illegally driven on the pavement in the first place.

Could Sir Alan please come forward to recieve the 'Mahoosive Cockwomble of the Day' Award.

Avatar
STATO | 8 years ago
1 like

Less obstructions on the roads (to traffic flow) means less irate drivers and also less space being taken from cyclists, i.e. lorries parked on double yellows blocking a cyclepath.

Just this morning I was stuck in a queue (narrow road, no room to get past safely) that i found was due to... a bin having blown in the road.  I nip off the bike, move bin to the drive of the house it blew from and then nearly get run down trying to get back on my bike as all the drivers behind are itate at the queue and had no idea of the cause, just a cyclist stood in the way.  The road is normally pleasant to use.

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jacknorell | 8 years ago
6 likes

This is about achieving higher traffic flows, not safety for vulnerable road users.

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ChairRDRF | 8 years ago
7 likes

Don't get any ideas about "anti-social driving" including  the likes of close overtakes or typical examples of careless driving or dangerous driving.

 

Read through the typs of misdemeanour described. Hardly any of it refers to typical rule and law breaking which endangers others on the roads.

Avatar
jasecd replied to ChairRDRF | 8 years ago
5 likes

ChairRDRF wrote:

Don't get any ideas about "anti-social driving" including  the likes of close overtakes or typical examples of careless driving or dangerous driving.

 

Read through the typs of misdemeanour described. Hardly any of it refers to typical rule and law breaking which endangers others on the roads.

 

Exactly - moving on vehicles that are inconsiderately parked is a fairly easy thing to do compared to actually pursuing the aggressive dickheads who make the roads unpleasant and unsafe for the rest of us.

Overall I guess this is a good thing but it won't have an impact on cycling safety or road safety in general. It would be good if they could broaden the defentition of "...acts liable to cause congestion" to include intimidating and dangerous driving that is likely to deter vulnerable road users from cycling or even walking, both of which reduce congestion.

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